Apparatus pertaining to the co-generation conversion of light into electricity

Abstract

An apparatus comprising a high-temperature photovoltaic transducer that is disposed between a source of light and another modality of solar energy conversion such that both the high-temperature photovoltaic transducer and the another modality of solar energy conversion generate electricity using a same source of light.

I claim: 
     
       1. An apparatus comprising a first modality of solar energy conversion that is disposed between a source of light and a second modality of solar energy conversion that comprises a fluid-based modality of solar energy conversion such that both the first modality of solar energy conversion and the second modality of solar energy conversion generate electricity using a same source of light and wherein the fluid of the fluid-based modality of solar energy conversion does not cool the first modality of solar energy conversion. 
     
     
       2. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the second modality of solar energy conversion converts heat into electricity. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the second modality of solar energy conversion includes a tower having a plurality of fluid-carrying solar collectors. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the first modality of solar energy conversion is disposed directly on a heat-absorbing surface that comprises a part of the second modality of solar energy conversion. 
     
     
       5. The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the heat-absorbing surface comprises a fluid-carrying conduit. 
     
     
       6. The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the first modality of solar energy conversion comprises a plurality of layers of graphene sufficient to absorb, in the aggregate, at least substantially all of the light that impinges thereupon. 
     
     
       7. The apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the plurality of layers of graphene comprises at least forty layers of graphene. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the source of light comprises light received directly from a star. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein the source of light comprises both light received directly from the star and light received via at least one reflection of the light from the star. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the second modality of solar energy conversion includes at least one fluid-carrying solar collector, and wherein the second modality of solar energy conversion further includes at least one thermal storage unit configured to receive heat from the at least one fluid-carrying solar collector such that heat stored in the thermal storage unit can be used to generate electricity in the absence of light from the source of light. 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10  wherein a liquid contained in the liquid-carrying solar collector has an operating temperature range in excess of 350 degrees Centigrade. 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the first modality of solar energy conversion comprises:
 a core consisting essentially of a wide band-gap material, wherein the core has at least one bisectional dimension that does not exceed 100 nanometers; 
 a shell consisting essentially of graphene conformally disposed about at least a substantial portion of the core. 
 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein the first modality of solar energy conversion comprises a plurality of the cores that each have one of the shells disposed thereabout. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 13  wherein the plurality of cores are disposed with their longitudinal axes oriented at least substantially parallel to one another. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 14  wherein the longitudinal axes range from at least about 200 nanometers to no more than about 5000 nanometers. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 12  wherein at least one of the core and the shell includes a dopant. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the apparatus further comprises a fluid-bearing conduit that comprises a component of the second modality of solar energy conversion and wherein the first modality of solar energy conversion is disposed on an outer surface of the fluid-bearing conduit. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 17  wherein the first modality of solar energy conversion is in thermal contact with a heated fluid borne by the fluid-bearing conduit.